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Friday, February 28, 2014

Hello and welcome to Week 9 of this year-long, weekly hand-lettering series!

A couple of notes about this week's piece:

The imagery is
inspired by a photo from deep space that you may have seen in the last
week or so. Scientists saw a black spot on a photo they had of space.
When they magnified it, they essentially found even DEEPER space filled
with millions upon millions of stars and galaxies - things they had no
idea existed before. This really expands one's idea of infinite space,
doesn't it? I hope the imagery here gives the feeling of looking at
bazillions of heavenly entities out there in our infinite space
universe.

And a little about Carl Sagan (November 9, 1934 – December 20,
1996.) He was an American, 20th century cosmologist - that is, someone
who studies the cosmos. He wrote 20 books, (including "Contact," upon
which the movie was based,) published over 600 scientific papers and
popularized science through his many television appearances. He had his
own 1980's TV series called "Cosmos: A Personal Voyage," which still
holds the record for being the most widely watched series in the history
of American public television.

Carl Sagan was a pretty cool guy! And this quote by him, which was
based on his excitement and reverence for our incredible and infinite
PHYSICAL universe, can, like so many truisms, also be applied to
anything.

And that includes each of us and our lives.

This statement inspires me in so many ways:

1.
It is a call to remain aware that while focus is always good, it is
also important to acknowledge all the wonders that we may not even be
aware of yet. This is extremely helpful when facing a challenge. It can
help to relax us if a solution is not directly at hand; reminding us to
keep our mind in a receptive state, which allows for creative solutions
to arise.

2. This phrase is also a wonderful way to generate gratitude. It
implies how truly abundant our world is. So much so, that we can't even
really be aware of it all at once.

3. And one more way
this phrase inspires me: It can apply to discovery within one's own
SELF. Think about that. There are so many incredible things yet to
discover IN yourself and ABOUT yourself, such as: qualities that you may
have not given yourself credit for, areas you have yet to grow into,
strengths you did not realize you possessed, talents you haven't tried
out yet.

It's exciting! It is more evidence that you can achieve any dream you have, even if you don't know how yet. Please leave a comment below and tell us how you are inspired by this quote.

NOTE: If you would like to see previous pieces from this series, you can view them here

Friday, February 21, 2014

This quote by Langston Hughes, like so much of his writing, has the
deep and sad timbre of his subject; the experience of racism in his life
and in our culture. How sad to think of not holding to our dreams,
which is something we may be tempted into, particularly in the face of
what may seem like insurmountable odds, or forces that are so large we
cannot imagine being strong enough to take them on. If we give up on
our dreams, they become a life lost, like an injured bird, without hope
of ever getting off the ground again. And yet, inside of this sad
aspect, is the idea of staying true to ourselves and the importance of
our lives through our ability to dream and the power of our
imaginations. While some dreams may fall to the ground, much like an
injured bird, there is always another dream that each one of us may take
in and nurture – for ourselves, our loved ones, groups we care deeply
about or for critical social causes. There are new dreams. There are
new incarnations of lost dreams. The important thing is to keep
dreaming. Keep dreaming and let your dreams soar.

Langston Hughes was an American poet, social activist, novelist,
playwright, and columnist. He was one of the earliest innovators of the
then-new literary art form “jazz poetry.” Hughes is best known for his
work during the Harlem Renaissance. He was born on February 1, 1902,
which was interesting to me because February 1 is my birthday too.

He was the voice for his race during his life and was, in his later
years, deemed the “Poet Laureate of the Negro Race,” a title he
encouraged. Hughes meant to represent the race in his writing and he
was, perhaps, the most original of all African American poets. He died
on May 22, 1967, after complications from surgery. At his funeral, very
little was said by way of eulogy, but the jazz and the blues musicians
who played for him, created a very fitting final tribute to this writer
who had been a creative maverick, for his race and for his generation.

Friday, February 14, 2014

I had contemplated basing this week's piece of hand lettering on one
of many quotes I found, in various sources, about self love. Because it
is TRUE, that to have almost anything, including a wonderful romatic
relationship, you really do need to love yourself; at least enough to
let yourself have what you are dreaming about.

I also
came across this - Sonnet 18 by William Shakespeare. I had never
read it fully, although like almost everyone I know, I had heard the
first two lines many, many times. I became curious, and so, this week, I
read the entire sonnet. And you know, there is a reason that
Shakespeare's works have lasted through the ages. The man has a way with
words.

This sonnet made me swoon. Even when I had to
reread certain lines to understand what the heck he was saying. Swoon.
Seriously. Take some time to read this through. Even if you don't have a
special sweetheart this Valentine's Day, so what? You can read this.
Imagine it has been written to you by someone who likes you very, very
much. As I mentioned in a previous post, one of the most TOP SECRET
secrets of manifesting your dreams is to FEEL your way into it. If you
are looking to find yourself in a wonderful, swoon-worthy,
flowers-and-chocolate type of romance, try on the feelings you would
have if that dream came true. Reading this sonnet will definitely jump
start that for you!

Saturday, February 8, 2014

I found this phrase standing alone, outside the context of the
book, "The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak, from which it is taken. "A
Snowball To The Face Is Surely The Perfect Beginning To A Lasting
Friendship" is a very funny and evocative sentence. When we normally
think about approaching someone in a friendly way, especially with the
intent to start up a friendship, we don't normally think of doing it by
throwing a snowball at that person's face. That twist in "logic" is what
makes this so funny and it illustrates what would be called a "pattern
interrupt."

A "pattern interrupt" is a way to change a person's state or
behavior using unexpected actions or words. It actually can be used to
interrupt anything; for example, did you ever ask someone a question
when they were in the middle of a story and they can't remember where
they left off? Or you start to do something and after being interrupted,
can't remember what it was? These are all pattern interrupts and can
cause momentary confusion, but can also create an open state in which
the shift in your attention can interrupt your own or someone
else's non-resourceful state, whether we are caught in a negative
spiral of thought or, perhaps, if we are stuck in habitual behavior that
we'd like to change.

Examples of "pattern interrupts" are:

~ Humor, such as the example in this week's hand-lettered project

~
Clapping your hands in the middle of an argument, to allow people some
time to take a deep breath or take a walk to let off steam.

~ Taking a different route to work or school

~ Stepping away from a creative problem that may be frustrating you, by taking a walk or doing the dishes

This
phrase about snowballs seems to address a particular type of stuckness
to me. It says to me, first and foremost, that it is OKAY to let
yourself want something, even if you have a habit of telling yourself
"no" about it. And, then, whether it is a person you want to approach,
or a dream you want to go after, give yourself a PATTERN INTERRUPT.
There may be confusion or discomfort that come with trying a new
approach, perhaps with even THINKING about it. Be with those feelings.
Use this phrase to keep a positive slant on the discomfort. And when you
are ready to put those fears aside, even for a minute or two at a time,
then, know that, eventually, you too will be able to throw a snowball
right at that dream's face and make friends with it.

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About Me

All art on this blog is by moi unless otherwise noted and is copyright protected, baby.
After having worked as an Illustrator for WNBC-TV local news, as an Information Graphics Designer at the Associated Press and a variety of other design, illustration and production forays, I've wended my way back to creating the old fashioned way, with paper, paint and pencil. Sometimes textiles, too.